Browsing the 2015 archive of NOTES FROM THE DESK OF....

The calendar year is coming to a close this week. On Friday we begin a new year with the celebration of Mary the Mother of God. Please join us at our vigil mass on Thursday evening at 4:30pm, or at our 10:00am mass on Friday.

The friars and the staff wish all of you a very blessed and merry Christmas. I look forward to seeing you at the Christmas masses and the Holy Family masses over the weekend. Most parish activities are on hold as we focus on the birth of Christ and family ... Read More »

We are now officially into the Jubilee Year of Mercy. One of the great blessings of being a priest is to encounter with another person this mercy within the sacrament of reconciliation. The spirit was indeed present last Wednesday evening among all the faithful and the priests who celebrated ... Read More »

On Tuesday, the jubilee year of mercy formally begins on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Pope Francis will open the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. in the following weeks, similar special doors will open in Rome and in dioceses around the world. The door represents ... Read More »

What came to mind as you entered the church today and looked at the Advent wreath which hangs over the baptismal font? Did it bring to mind the family Advent wreath that sat in the middle of the dining room table when you were younger? The simplicity of ... Read More »

The friars wish all of you a holy and blessed Thanksgiving, and safe travel for those of you who will be on the road. If you are spending Thanksgiving here, please join us on Thursday morning at 9:00 am for Mass. Weather permitting, I plan on visiting family, either ... Read More »

We are only two weeks away from the beginning of Advent, and three weeks away from the start of the Holy Year of Mercy. This Holy Year begins on December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. I hope that our parish can fully enter into the ... Read More »

You may have noticed our ushers during the last two weeks, walking the church aisles during mass. Our ushers were conducting the annual October mass count, a practice required by the Archdiocese (actually all dioceses). Our results may have been affected by the big Saturday football game two weeks ... Read More »

Both Fr. Jeremy and I really appreciated your affirmation this past weekend on Priesthood Sunday. Both of us enjoy our ministry at Transfiguration Parish, as well as the many opportunities we have to get to know you better. Let us keep each other in prayers that we all may ... Read More »

In a few weeks the Holy Year which Pope Francis proclaimed will begin. I hope that we all will consider ourselves personally invited to enter deeply into the gift of God's mercy during this time. I will highlight a portion of the Pope's writings during the Holy Year which ... Read More »